Baked Spicy Chicken Parm Meatballs (Printable)

Juicy spicy chicken meatballs baked in marinara with melted mozzarella cheese.

# What You’ll Use:

→ For the Meatballs

01 - 1 lb ground chicken
02 - 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
03 - 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
04 - 1 large egg
05 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
07 - 1/2 tsp salt
08 - 1/2 tsp black pepper
09 - 1 tsp smoked paprika
10 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
11 - 1 tsp onion powder
12 - 1/2 tsp dried oregano
13 - 2 tbsp hot sauce

→ For Baking

14 - 2 cups marinara sauce
15 - 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
16 - 2 tbsp olive oil

# How-To:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with 1 tbsp olive oil.
02 - In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, egg, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cayenne, onion powder, oregano, and hot sauce. Mix until just combined without overmixing.
03 - With damp hands, form mixture into 1.5-inch meatballs and place on a tray. You should have approximately 16 meatballs.
04 - Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs and brown for 2-3 minutes per side in batches. Meatballs do not need to be fully cooked at this stage.
05 - Spread half the marinara sauce in the prepared baking dish. Arrange browned meatballs on top. Spoon remaining sauce over meatballs.
06 - Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.
07 - Remove from oven and sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly over meatballs. Return to oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly and meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
08 - Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • These chicken meatballs deliver all the crispy, saucy, cheesy satisfaction of a chicken parm without needing to bread and fry individual cutlets.
  • The spice builds gradually as you eat, so even people who claim they don't like heat tend to come back for more.
  • Everything happens in one baking dish, which means less cleanup and more time to enjoy actual dinner.
02 -
  • Don't skip the browning step, even though it feels like an extra step, because it creates a crust that keeps the meatballs from becoming mushy when they bake in sauce.
  • Overmixing the meatball mixture is the quickest way to end up with dense, rubbery meatballs, so fold it together gently and stop as soon as everything is just combined.
03 -
  • Keep damp paper towels nearby while shaping meatballs, because wet hands make the whole process faster and way less messy than trying to scrape chicken off your fingers.
  • If your skillet is small, brown the meatballs in two batches rather than crowding the pan, since they need space to get a proper crust.
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